Founded in 1973, the University of Rijeka (UNIRI) is a modern European university and centre of excellence whose impact extends beyond the region. With a total of 11 faculties and 4 departments, UNIRI is a research, science, and education-oriented university that supports social and economic development in the community, the City of Rijeka, and the wider region.

University of Rijeka has 16 500 students, over 1700 employees and almost 1000 researchers. UNIRI is the first university in Croatia to have signed the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, thereby accepting the European Commission’s initiative aiming to increase employability and to promote research careers as vital elements in the strategy for economic growth, employment, and setting up the European Research Area (ERA). In addition, the University of Rijeka was the first to sign the European Commission’s Charter for participation in the “Group for Human Resources Strategy Implementation”. It focuses on excellence, quality assurance, lifelong learning (LLL), active collaboration with the local community and economy and active inclusion into the EHEA & ERA. Since 2019, UNIRI is the member of the Erasmus+ European Universities Initiative called Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE).

The Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management (UNIRI FTHM), located in Opatija, is a legal entity within the University of Rijeka, consisting of seven institutes and performing study programmes from undergraduate to doctoral studies and LLL programmes. UNIRI FTHM employs 101 employees, 76 of which participate in the educational process, and has 2 000 students. UNIRI FTHM is Croatia’s only higher education institution fully oriented towards education for the managerial positions in tourism and hospitality industry and to the human resources development in this field.

The mission of the Faculty is to take part, through teaching and research work, in the realization of the sustainable development for Croatian tourism, which adequately respects natural attractions and cultural values of Croatia. Education and research activities mainly focus on contemporary issues and topics related to tourism and hospitality industry, such as sustainable tourism development, tourism strategy development, destination management, tourism impact, development of specific forms of tourism, including camping, health and wellness tourism and marketing for tourism and hospitality. UNIRI FTHM promotes knowledge and excellence while respecting the highest ethical principles, intensively developing partnerships with local authorities and business companies in Croatia.